PeachBlossomGoddess

Lol - its not really described in the novel either and it happens in the past, before he even met Haishi.

Yups... he cut off the family jewels himself.

This director likes to first film the sad ending and then drops a on overly brief happy ending in the last episode. I don't mind a sad ending but I want it to be a real ending not something that is out to try to appease everyone and ends up pissing off everyone instead. Where I am struggling right now is its just to damn cruel to make Haishi a lonely empress that raises someone else kid, no matter how good a friend they are. So the moment they decided not to go with the triangle with the emperor, I am gonna absolutely hate it if they end it that way.

Yes I saw the empress and child shots but that would pretty much be the book ending but even sadder - like she loses her lover and she doesn't even raise her own kid??? I am jus t speculating on how it could be different - that would be too much of a very cliche Tiffiny Tang/Weiyoung Princess wannabe like ending that I hope they avoid.

In the novel the emperor and FZ pretty much die together, the emperor shortly after FZ. If they are both to die I would rather they go down like that rather than of grief or in their sickbed. Both Tilan and Haishi live on but Tilan is the only one who gets a happy ending with her general. The drama has changed so much that I think it will be hard to go back to that.

To me it looks like they Jianming and Haishi will take down Ji Chang together with the help of the merfolk in the port conflict arc and it will be a high seas ending. Meanwhile Zhuoying wiill eliminate Ji Chang's spies in the north, defeat his brother and reunite the Huku,. He will find Zhe Liu and make her is queen and there will be peace between Dazheng and Huku in the north.

Fang Zhu and Haishi will "die" tragically at sea after feeding Ji Chang to the sharks but are really rescued by the merfolk and disappear to see the world together. They leave open how much time Jianming has left. Something along those lines. The emperor and Tilan survive and they have a son who marries Haishi and Jianming's daugthter. [It is another epic love story. starring the young gal who played young Haishi]. She bears an uncanny resemblance to Haishi and becomes empress. No more baixi. The end. Or at least that is how I would write it.

Ending speculation:

Yeah I agree with you the way the emperor's character was adapted in the beginning was intended to be true to how dark and mad this character is in the novel but they didn't have to direct it all at Tilan and they also they went a bit too far with it.

As for FJM, yeah they should have given us at least a wedding kiss (with Haishi) but I still think he traded up big time - I mean he is a eunuch in the novel....

No he would just be an ordinary mortal. By definition we are all our own baixi - we take on our own wounds, pain and suffering.

Even if Tilan dies if the emperorlives he doesn’t need a regent.

Of course she is - what do you think the emperor means when he says she is to be known as Mrs Hu Zhu going forward? Fang Zhu is Jianming’s underground identity. And thus his wife is Mrs or Madam (fu ren/夫人) Hu Zhu. He is implicitly recognizing their marriage using a play on words.

It does not exactly have a sad ending.

I don’t think that will happen unless both Tilan and the emperor die. And they shouldn’t kill off Tilan she survives in the book and is the only one to have a happy ending.

I usually watch with Chinese subs but I switched on the English ones for one episode to check them out after seeing your post. It just one episode but I believe the subtitles for this are actually quite good.

The actor and role is one dimensional. He is way better written in the novel and somewhat empathetic.

No too expensive much cheaper to tickle him to death with feathers and still not violent enough. I say slash his finger and feed him to the sharks.

As long as it’s a good ending I am ok with it however it plays out.

Yes she can if the emperor makes her empress. It is quite common for the sons of consorts to be adopted by the empress at birth if the empress is childless. Many emperors grew up like that - including the Song emperor in Serenade of Peaceful Joy.

Just an educated guess. If they go for a full on HE.

I suspect they go on a last mission together for the emperor in which the succeed. But they pretend to die and ride off into the sunset together.

So... do you think the physician wet himself???